A record night for Fajardo, Wimberly and the passing attack

Cody Fajardo was very sore after the Nevada football team’s 45-42, come-from-behind victory over Air Force on Saturday night at Mackay Stadium.

That was mostly because the junior quarterback, still not 100 percent from a sprained right knee that kept him out of the past two games, got popped a lot by the Falcons’ defense. But part of it, too, was just overworking his right arm.

Fajardo set career highs in pass completions, attempts and yards by going 38-for-54 for 389 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also had 11 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, the second one coming with 1 minute, 45 seconds to play. It was the game winner.

“I don’t think I’ve ever thrown it 54 times in my career, to be honest,” Fajardo said. “That’s high school, Pop Warner, now. It’s great. If that’s what we’ve got to do to win, that’s what we’ve got to do. … We were playing from behind. We had to throw it. We had some coverages that we liked.”

Nevada's Brandon Wimberly makes the catch for a touchdown against Air Force in their game Saturday at Mackay Stadium. Wimberly caught a career-best 15 catches for 134 yards. (Tom Smedes/Special to the RGJ)

It’s likely the most pass attempts since the Air Wolf days, when Chris Ault’s aerial attack in the early 1990s often topped 50 attempts.

And Fajardo’s favorite target was Brandon Wimberly, the sixth-year senior who extended his national-best streak of games with a reception to 45 straight on the game’s fourth play.

It was just getting started.

Fajardo hit Wimberly 15 times for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons’ soft zone defense.

Afterward, he was only thinking about the one drop he had late, on an underthrown ball, in the first half that could have given the Wolf Pack a chance to score and take the lead. Instead, AFA led 21-17.

“That could have changed the whole dynamic of the ballgame,” Wimberly said.

Wimberly said he saw an item on ESPN’s SportsCenter Saturday morning that talked about his streak. He said Fajardo talks to him often about wanting to get him the ball early to keep the streak alive.

The Wolf Pack’s Pistol offense has always been a run-first offense, and Wimberly said he could never have imagined making 15 catches in one game.

“Actually, it was thrown to me 18 times,” he said. “I keep track of that.”

Junior Aaron Bradley, who came into the game with nine catches in four games, had a career-best 11 receptions for a game-high 135 yards and a touchdown. Richy Turner caught six balls for 44 yards.

“I just think it’s a relationship thing,” Fajardo said, explaining the successful night. “The experience (the receivers) have with me. We have great timing.”

Coach Brian Polian said he doesn’t want to be that imbalanced on offense — Nevada threw 56 passes and ran 44 times for a whopping 100 total offensive plays — but the Falcons’ defense dictated it. Also, Air Force has given up huge passing numbers in the last month.

“I’m pretty proud of our offense,” Fajardo said, referring to his unit being behind, usually by two scores, every time it took the field. “We never panicked. … We just knew if we played our game, we’d get right back into it. I knew the defense would get a stop, which they did. The rest is history.”

About this blog

Longtime RGJ Media reporter Dan Hinxman is the authority on Wolf Pack athletics, bringing you the day-to-day coverage of Nevada’s sports teams. Dan has covered almost everything the Northern Nevada sports scene has to offer and will use his knowledge to bring you authoritative and engaging Wolf Pack content. Follow him on Twitter at @DanHinxmanRGJ.